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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28312065">underneath the tree</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pollutedrain/pseuds/pollutedrain'>pollutedrain</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Alternate Universe - Parents, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Established Relationship, Family, M/M, happy holidays!, johnjae are married, just something short and sweet for the holiday season, markhyuck are their kids</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:47:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,609</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28312065</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pollutedrain/pseuds/pollutedrain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Morning sleepyhead,” Johnny greets his husband, immediately holding an arm out for him. “Sleep well?”</p><p>“Mmm,” Jaehyun hums, closing his eyes as he tucks himself in close against his chest. “I missed you, though. You know I hate waking up to an empty bed.”</p><p>“Sorry, I was pulled out of bed by our wonderful children trying to wake the entire neighbourhood with their bickering.”</p><p>(Alternatively: it's Christmas morning in the Suh-Jeong household, and Johnny navigates trying to keep his children under control.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>228</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>underneath the tree</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>merry christmas!</p><p>this is just something short and sweet i got out in time for the holidays - i hope you enjoy it, and i hope you have a lovely day whether you celebrate or not! </p><p>note: thank you to chii for the idea for the ribbon wrapping scene, and to kate for putting up with me complaining about this not writing itself ♥</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s still dark out when Johnny finds himself suddenly awake. </p><p>He groans softly to himself, careful not to disturb Jaehyun who remains sleeping peacefully next to him while he rolls over to check the time on his phone. </p><p>05:21, December 25th. Christmas morning.</p><p>Which can mean only one thing woke him. </p><p>He’s careful to keep his movements as silent as possible as he untangles Jaehyun’s arms from around his waist, his husband sighing in his sleep when he manages to successfully pull away. Leaving him is the last thing he wants to do right now, but if he doesn’t attend to the probable situation that is most likely rapidly worsening across the house, none of them will get any peace for the rest of the day. </p><p>The floor creaks under foot as he crosses their bedroom to tug a pyjama shirt from the dresser, already feeling the bite of the cold morning air against his naked torso. He throws one last longing look towards Jaehyun and their bed before he steals through the doorway, carefully closing the door behind him.</p><p>Outside of his and Jaehyun’s bedroom, it becomes apparent that he was indeed correct about what had woken him. The faint noise only grows as he makes his way down the hallway, coming to rest his hand on the handle of a door that sits across from his own. He sighs to himself as the sound of bickering reaches his ears, and he prepares himself for the worst as he pushes the door open. </p><p>Silence immediately cuts through the room, both of its occupants turning to look at him with wide, guilty eyes. </p><p>“Boys,” Johnny begins, looking between his two sons with as stern an expression he can muster this early in the morning. “It’s barely 5am, what are you doing?”</p><p>He’s greeted with an immediate outburst of noise, both boys trying to speak over the other as they reply to him.</p><p>“Mark was being mean to me!” The younger of the two, Donghyuck, pipes up as he points at his brother. “He said Santa won’t come because I’m awake!”</p><p>“I wasn’t being mean!” Mark quickly protests. “He wanted to sneak downstairs and peek before you and dad were awake!”</p><p>“He’s lying!”</p><p>“I’m not <em>lying! </em>He-”</p><p>Feeling suddenly much more tired than before, Johnny ducks into the room proper so he can close the door behind him. </p><p>“Guys, stop.” He replies wearily, catching Donghyuck in his arms when the boy runs to him. </p><p>He carries him over to where Mark is still in bed, dropping down onto the mattress with a tired sigh. Both of his sons take the chance to burrow in close - Donghyuck flopping against his chest, one hand curled around the material of his pyjama shirt, while Mark tucks himself into his other side. Sleepy as he is, Johnny can’t help the fond smile that spreads across his face, holding the pair of them close.</p><p>“It’s a little early for you to be arguing like this, especially on Christmas,” He murmurs, resting his chin on Donghyuck’s head. “You’re lucky it’s only me that woke up, dad needs his sleep.”</p><p>At least both of his kids have the decency to look guilty, glancing at each out of the corner of their eyes. There’s a brief, awkward silence as the pair of them look determinedly at the floor, his eldest tugging at the arm of his teddy bear as he speaks up. </p><p>“Sorry dad,” Mark replies, a sentiment that Donghyuck echoes, mumbled into Johnny’s chest. “We were just excited about Santa coming.”</p><p>“Understandable, apology accepted.” Johnny answers simply, ruffling his hair until the boy tries to duck out of his grasp with a quiet giggle. </p><p>Johnny hums softly to himself as he glances up at the clock that hangs on the boys’ bedroom wall. It’s closer to this side of 6am than he’d like, early even for them, and he has a sneaking suspicion that he won’t be getting back to bed any time soon. Especially with the way Donghyuck seems to be vibrating with excitement in his arms.</p><p>“I don’t suppose there’s any chance the pair of you will go back to sleep?” He tries anyway, even as both of his kids blink up at him, very much wide awake.</p><p>“No!” Donghyuck protests, sounding horrified that he’d even suggest such a thing. “It’s Christmas, dad!”</p><p>Well, there goes his last shred of hope that he’d be returning to early morning cuddling with his husband.</p><p>“It is Christmas, yes,” He concedes, pressing a kiss to the boy’s forehead. “Go wash up and we’ll figure something out then.” </p><p>Both children obediently rush off to the bathroom that sits next door to their room, arguing over who gets to go first even as they squeeze through the doorway together. Johnny fights back the urge to laugh - Jaehyun having scolded him before for encouraging them. He can’t help it though, their sons are just so predictable. He heaves himself up, pausing to straighten out the mess of sheets that Donghyuck had left behind, before flicking the light off and leaving the room too. </p><p>He sticks his head into the boys’ bathroom to ensure that they’re <em>actually</em> washing up, instead of just smearing toothpaste across each other’s faces like they’ve done far too many times. Thankfully, he’s met with the sight of them actually behaving for once. Sure, Donghyuck is perhaps a little too enthusiastic about washing his face, ending in him splashing water all the way down the front of his reindeer-print pyjamas, but Johnny just chuckles and dries him off best he can with a towel. </p><p>Mark clings to his hand as they sneak out into the hallway, both him and his younger brother giggling and mirroring the way Johnny presses a finger to his lips, motioning towards his and Jaehyun’s bedroom with his head. The three of them pad down the stairs together, only stopping to switch the central heating on when Johnny notes how cold their wood floors feel underfoot. </p><p>Donghyuck toddles away from him as he does so, clearly making a beeline for the closed door of the living room which hides their Christmas tree, as well as its surrounding pile of presents. Johnny raises an eyebrow, easily catching hold of his son before he can even attempt to reach for the door handle.</p><p>“Where do you think you’re going?” He asks in amusement, while Donghyuck writhes in his arms.</p><p>“I want to see if Santa’s been!” His son cries in reply, trying to wriggle his way back to the ground. </p><p>“We have to wait for dad to wake up,” Johnny responds, brushing the boy’s messy curls off of his forehead. “Christmas isn’t Christmas if all four of us aren’t celebrating together, after all.”</p><p>Donghyuck sighs at that, a heavily put-upon noise.</p><p>“But dad takes <em>forever</em> to wake up.” He whines. </p><p>“You’re not wrong, but if it gets too late and he’s still not up I’m sure we can help him out.” Johnny winks, enjoying the way his youngest immediately brightens up at the suggestion.</p><p>“Okay!” He concedes, wrapping his arms around his father’s neck instead.</p><p>Thankfully, Johnny is met with little resistance as he herds everyone safely away from the living room and into the kitchen. Mark, the angel that he is, immediately begins setting up breakfast for him and his younger brother, grabbing bowls and spoons the second Johnny turns the light on.</p><p>“Can we have the special chocolate cereal today, dad?” The eldest asks, looking up at his father with hopeful eyes.</p><p>“Of course,” Johnny replies easily, passing him the box. “Make sure you don’t give Hyuck too much, you know what he’s like.”</p><p>Mark nodded in reply, no doubt thinking of the time his younger brother had gotten into the food cupboard and devoured an entire box of said chocolate cereal (reserved for weekends and special occasions only) by himself. Jaehyun had insisted that all ‘fun’ foods would live on a shelf that literally only Johnny could reach from that moment on, much to Donghyuck’s dismay. </p><p>If their youngest notices his smaller portion now, he doesn’t speak up about it. Instead, he looks up at his father with a frown on his face.</p><p>“Aren’t you gonna eat too, daddy?”</p><p>“I’ll eat with dad when he wakes up, for now I’ll just have coffee.” Johnny reassures him, helping him into his favourite seat at the table. </p><p>Quiet falls across the room as Mark accepts the carton of milk he hands to him, pouring for both himself and his brother as they begin to eat. Johnny, on the other hand, switches on the coffee machine, making sure to prepare extra in case Jaehyun does in fact surface earlier than expected. While he waits for it to brew, he busies himself with wandering around the kitchen, pulling out everything he thinks they’ll need for what he has planned.</p><p>The kids watch him as he goes, both fascinated.</p><p>“What are you doing, dad?” Mark asks, as he watches Johnny pull down their electric mixer (a gift from his mom when he and Jaehyun had first moved in).</p><p>“Well,” He replies, frowning to himself as he combs through the cupboards in search of one thing in particular. “Since we’re all up so early, I figured we’d kill time by doing something fun.”</p><p>“Like what?”</p><p>“Like- Ah, there you are!” He grins triumphantly, pushing aside a half-eaten jar of peanut butter and seizing hold of his target. “Like this!”</p><p>He holds aloft the box of sugar cookie mix like it’s a trophy, expecting his sons to erupt in excitement. Instead, he’s met with a pair of blank faces.</p><p>“Santa’s already been,” Donghyuck informs him. “We left out cookies for him last night, remember dad?”</p><p>“I do remember, Hyuck,” He’d been the one to eat them after he and Jaehyun were sure the kids were definitely asleep, after all. “We’re baking them for us and daddy, how about that?”</p><p>“Oh!” His youngest does brighten up at that. “So we can eat cookies for dinner?”</p><p>“Well, dad has a nice dinner planned, but we can definitely have them after, and maybe with lunch too.” Johnny replies, his own smile mirroring the grin that spreads across the boy’s face.</p><p>Mark looks less convinced. </p><p>“Doesn’t dad say packet mix is cheating?” He frowns.</p><p>“He does, which is rich considering your dad’s never baked cookies from scratch in his life,” Johnny smirks, remembering the one time his husband <em>had</em> attempted. The oven in their last apartment had never been the same after. “But what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right?”</p><p>Mark bites his lip to avoid laughing at his remark, a gesture that reminds Johnny so much of himself that for a second he feels almost a little winded. He’s about to reply with something that will probably embarrass them both, Mark having quickly gotten to that age where it’s easy for either of his dads to embarrass him, when he’s thankfully cut off by Donghyuck slamming his spoon down, holding up his empty bowl for Johnny to see.</p><p>“Finished!” He declares. “Can we have cookies now?”</p><p>“We need to make them first,” Johnny replies, whisking away both cereal bowls to the sink where they’ll probably end up forgotten until later. “Go wash your hands, both of you.”</p><p>Once he’s sure they’re ready, he tasks Mark with measuring out the extra ingredients they’ll need, pushing the scales in front of his eldest son.</p><p>“You just need butter, milk and two eggs,” He reads off of the list of instructions. “If you need help with the eggs, let me know.” </p><p>“What about me?” Donghyuck chirps, bouncing up and down with excitement.</p><p>“You get to help me sort out the decorations, how about that?”</p><p>“Okay!”</p><p>This’ll probably bite him in the ass later - as in, it’s his turn to do the dishes tonight meaning he’s the one who will be cleaning all this up - but Johnny can’t resist getting out nearly every bowl that they own so Donghyuck can pour all the decorations out. He’d stopped by Target the other day to pick up a bottle of wine for his and Jaehyun’s bimonthly date night, and had all but raided the baking aisle for anything bright and colourful that caught his eye. They’d come in handy one day, he’d told himself, and turns out he’d been right.</p><p>“Dad,” Mark calls to grab his attention. “I’ve measured everything out.”</p><p>“Good job,” He leaves Donghyuck counting out sprinkles and tiny decorative candy canes to join his eldest once more. “What’s next?”</p><p>“Um,” Mark pauses to squint at the box, stumbling a little over the words as he reads. “<em>Combine all ingredients until fully blended</em> - what does that mean?” </p><p>“It means it’s time for this.” Johnny clarifies, plugging in their whisk and slotting in the right attachments. </p><p>His son watches with wide eyes.</p><p>“Can I do it?”</p><p>“Sure,” Johnny replies, carefully handing him the mixer before moving to hold the bowl steady with one hand. “Just be careful with the mixer, it’s-”</p><p>Because he can finish, Mark switches the machine on, sending a cloud of flour and icing sugar into the air.</p><p>“Powerful.” Johnny concludes, trying not to laugh at the bewildered look on his son’s face. “Are you okay? Did you breathe any in?” </p><p>“No,” Mark answers, even as he coughs. “Okay, maybe a little.”</p><p>“Oh dear.” Johnny smiles, dusting some flour off of his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t matter.”</p><p>At the other end of the kitchen bench, Donghyuck nearly collapses off of his stool with laughter, almost upending the bowl he’d been filling with chocolate chips. Johnny feels Mark tense up underneath his hand, and he tries to soothe his eldest by rubbing circles against his shoulder with his thumb.</p><p>“Hyuck, don’t laugh at your brother, it’s not nice.” He warns, using the tone he knows never fails to make his youngest squirm. </p><p>It works, Donghyuck ducking his head with a mumbled apology. Mark relaxes again, and Johnny just silently thanks whichever deity that might be listening that he doesn’t have to deal with yet another argument before 8am. After all, it’s still too early for him to switch out his coffee for a glass of something stronger. </p><p>He takes charge when it’s time to roll out the mix, scattering flour over the surface of the counter to try and minimise the amount of dough he’ll have to scrape up later. Donghyuck appears at his side to watch, slyly trying to pass a handful of what looks like mini marshmallows to his brother without drawing the attention of their father. Johnny raises an eyebrow at him when he does indeed catch them, but he can’t help but laugh when Donghyuck tries to placate him by holding out some for him to take.</p><p>“Thank you,” He responds, tipping the handful into his mouth. “Make sure to leave enough for your hot chocolates tonight, though.”</p><p>“Will do.” Donghyuck grins, even as he sneaks more out of the packet. </p><p>Johnny splits the dough into three equal parts, directing the boys to the set of cookie cutters he’d dug out of one of the drawers. He hovers over Donghyuck as the youngest forces his chosen cutter (a reindeer) into his section of dough with such force that his arms shake with the action. </p><p>“Mine are gonna look the best!” He declares, slotting a sly look at his brother.</p><p>“It’s not a competition,” Mark retorts. “Right, dad?”</p><p>“Right, bud,” Johnny replies, helping both his children transfer their shapes to the readied baking sheets. “No competitions on Christmas.”</p><p>Once he’s satisfied that he’s spaced out the boys’ cookies evenly enough, he quickly cuts out his own designs, using them to fill the gaps he’d left behind. Donghyuck draws snowmen in the leftover flour on the counter as he watches his father work. </p><p>“Can we decorate them now? I want to make mine look pretty for daddy.” </p><p>“No, we have to wait for them to bake and cool down first.” Johnny replies, finally sliding the filled baking sheets into the hot oven.</p><p>“Oh.” Donghyuck frowns. “What do we do until then?”</p><p>“Hmm,” Johnny thinks aloud, looking back at the kitchen island. It’s not in the worst state it could be, but he could at least do with wiping down the counters so it’s clean for when the cookies come out of the oven again. “Why don’t you go into my office and draw grandma and grandpa a Christmas card? I’m sure they’d love it!”</p><p>When he’s sure both boys are distracted, caught up in deep conversation together as they debate over felt-tip markers and a piece of bright red card, he takes the chance to slip into the hall. He’s sure he can hear the sound of the boiler working upstairs, the tell-tale noise that Jaehyun is up and about and probably currently washing his face, and he makes a mental note to check that the coffee he’d made is still warm enough to drink once he’s done with his task.</p><p>Johnny is careful as he opens the living room door just enough that he can peer into the room - if Donghyuck hears what he’s up to he’s not sure he’ll be able to distract him any longer. Their Christmas tree sits at the opposite end of the room, the light that sneaks in through the open door catching on the tinsel, making it glitter even in the dark. The presents sit undisturbed in a pile beneath it and, as he listens carefully for any noise that suggests something might be amiss, he notes that the boys’ main present seems to be doing alright as well. </p><p>He closes the door once more.</p><p>The smell of vanilla is almost overwhelming when he sneaks back into the kitchen, pausing to make sure that nothing had burnt while he was gone. Once he confirms that their oven is in fact not on fire, he begins gathering eggs and bread so he can make breakfast for himself and Jaehyun, finally having found his appetite. </p><p>Speaking of - there’s a soft creak of the floorboards behind him, and he turns just in time to see Jaehyun appear in the doorway.</p><p>“Something smells good,” The younger man mumbles, a yawn cutting him off halfway through his sentence. “What’ve you been up to?”</p><p>“Morning sleepyhead,” Johnny greets his husband, immediately holding an arm out for him. “Sleep well?”</p><p>“Mmm,” Jaehyun hums, closing his eyes as he tucks himself in close against his chest. “I missed you, though. You know I hate waking up to an empty bed.”</p><p>“Sorry, I was pulled out of bed by our wonderful children trying to wake the entire neighbourhood with their bickering.”</p><p>“Of course,” Jaehyun rolls his eyes with a sigh. “We should really look into moving Mark into his own room, they’d probably stop fighting all together if we did that.”</p><p>“You say that,” Johnny begins, pulling away to cup his husband’s face in his hands. “But every time I suggest it they both look at me as if I’d told them I’m selling them to the circus.”</p><p>“Now <em>there’s</em> a thought,” Jaehyun laughs, leaning in to bump their foreheads together. “Imagine all that nice, quiet alone time we’d have together, it’d be like when we first got married.”</p><p>“They’d be back home within five minutes, no-one can handle them but us.”</p><p>“True,” His husband pulls away after a brief kiss. “Do I smell coffee?” </p><p>Johnny’s reply is interrupted by the timer he’d set on his phone going off, and he stops to pull the baking sheets back out of the oven. He leaves them on the counter to cool, turning back to see the questioning look on the other man’s face.</p><p>“A distraction,” He clarifies, tossing his oven gloves back onto their hook. “Hyuck was seconds away from breaking into the living room to make sure Santa had been.” </p><p>“Oh!” Jaehyun looks around, as though one of their children might be listening in from behind the washing machine. “Did you check…?”</p><p>“I did, everything’s fine in there.” Johnny confirms. “Should we finally put them out of their misery?”</p><p>“Not yet, it’s not quite ready,” Jaehyun shakes his head. “I need your fingers first.”</p><p>“You-” Johnny blinks at his husband’s words, wondering if he’d heard him correctly. “I- Isn’t it a bit early? I thought we agreed we’d do that after the kids went to bed?”</p><p>Jaehyun lets out a surprised yelp, slapping him on the shoulder. </p><p>“Not like <em>that</em> you pervert! I need two pairs of hands to finish tying the ribbon!”</p><p>“<em>Oh</em>!”</p><p>Johnny can’t help but feel a little disappointed, particularly when Jaehyun looks so alluring right now, dressed in one of Johnny’s sleep shirts that’s just big enough to allow the collar to hang low on his neck. The pale expanse of his husband’s skin seems to call to him, and he leans in to press a brief kiss to the crook of his neck. </p><p>“We’re still on for later though, right?”</p><p>“Like I could ever resist you,” Jaehyun responds fondly, taking his hand to squeeze it tightly. “But let’s be quick before the boys realise I’m up.”</p><p>“Got it.”</p><p>It’s a little harder to sneak into the living room this time, with how Johnny’s office door lies open directly across the hall. He can hear the boys talking, Donghyuck wondering aloud if Jaehyun could possibly be awake yet just as his father pulls the door shut behind himself and Johnny. </p><p>“We’ll have to work quickly.” The younger man informs him, hurrying into the centre of the room without bothering to turn on the light. </p><p>“You’re the boss.” Johnny replies simply, stopping to at least turn on the fairy lights that wrap their way around the tree - he couldn’t not, considering how much Mark seems to love them.</p><p>Jaehyun kneels down next to a crate that they’d tucked away in the far corner of the room, hidden behind the main bulk of the boys’ presents. There’s a quiet clinking noise as he unlatches the door, and he sits back on his heels as he gathers the crate’s occupant in his arms. </p><p>“Hello,” He coos to the golden retriever puppy that blinks sleepily at him. “How are you this morning?”</p><p>His words are met with a tired yawn, the puppy snuggling into the warmth of his arms. Johnny crosses the room to join the pair, gently tickling the puppy under her chin, marvelling over how she might be the cutest puppy he’s ever seen. He really needs to text Ten and thank him again for his help in adopting her - it’d been his best friend who had put them in touch with the shelter and kept her hidden away at his house before Christmas, after all.</p><p>“Isn’t she sweet?” Jaehyun asks him in a hushed tone. “Do you think the boys will like her?”</p><p>“They’ll love her.” Johnny replies. “Mark’s been begging for a dog for years now, he’ll be so happy.”</p><p>Jaehyun beams at his reply, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.</p><p>“And how lucky he is to have such an amazing dad that did this all for him.”</p><p>Johnny ducks his head, sure that his cheeks probably glow red even in the low light of the room. </p><p>“Anything for them.” He mumbles shyly. “And you.”</p><p>
There’s a burst of noise from the direction of the office, drawing the attention of the puppy in Jaehyun’s arms, and Johnny realises that they’re probably quickly running out of time.</p><p>“Do you have the ribbon?” He asks Jaehyun, sitting up. “We’ll sort that and then I’ll go grab the kids before they tear my poor bookshelves down.”</p><p>Jaehyun laughs, jerking his head towards a box by the sofa. </p><p>“In there.” He answers. </p><p>Once Johnny hands it to him he’s quick to loop it around the collar that’s already fastened around the puppy’s neck. He directs Johnny to place his fingers where he’s needed, chuckling when he accidentally catches the ribbon on his husband’s wedding band, and soon a completed bow sits tied around their puppy’s collar. </p><p>“Don’t you look pretty?” Johnny asks her, pressing a kiss to her head as she wags her tail in excitement. </p><p>The sound of two pairs of footsteps tearing past the living room door and into the kitchen distracts them all, and Jaehyun heaves out a sigh. </p><p>“Sounds like you’re needed.” He smiles at Johnny, just as Mark’s confused call of “<em>dad?”</em> reaches them.</p><p>“Sounds like it.” Johnny echoes, brushing the hair from his husband’s eyes before he stands. “I’ll go get them.”</p><p>Both Mark and Donghyuck (complete with a new smear of glitter glue across his left cheek) are peering at the trays of cookies when he returns to the kitchen. The pair of them look at him expectantly when they realise he’s joined them. </p><p>“Can we decorate them now, dad?” Mark asks, hopefully. “Hyuck’s really excited to do it before dad wakes up.” </p><p>“Is that so?” Johnny washes his hands so he can check how cool the baking sheets are. “They’re still a little warm, sorry guys.”</p><p>“What do we do now?” Donghyuck pouts, visibly deflating. “We finished the card for grandma and grandpa.”</p><p>“Hmm,” Johnny tilts his head to the side, as though trying to think of a solution for the boys’ boredom. “Well… Considering daddy is actually already awake, how about we open some presents?”</p><p>Silence descends upon the room, both of his sons staring up at him with wide eyes, before Donghyuck breaks it with a whine.</p><p>“He’s awake? Why didn’t you tell us, daddy?” He complains, glaring up at Johnny with a pout that he could only have learnt from his other father - Jaehyun always defaulting to the same expression whenever he wants something.</p><p>“Sorry ducky,” Johnny laughs, ruffling Donghyuck’s hair. “We were just making sure everything was left perfect by Santa, you can go in now.”</p><p>Even so, he makes the boys wait outside the living room, telling them to cover their eyes as he rests his hand on the door handle once more. </p><p>“Are you ready- Hyuck, I can see you peeking.”</p><p>His son giggles, obediently slotting his fingers back into place to cover his eyes once more. Once Johnny is sure that neither of them are looking, he pushes the door open, guiding the pair of them into the room where Jaehyun waits, exactly as he’d left him.</p><p>“Okay,” Johnny starts, pulling his hands away from his children. “You can look.”</p><p>It’s Donghyuck that opens his eyes first, letting out a delighted gasp at the sight of the puppy in his father’s arms. In contrast, Mark only stares at her in awed silence, hands shaking as he reaches out for her.</p><p>“For- For us?” He asks quietly, looking up at Jaehyun.</p><p>“For you,” Jaehyun replies, eyes so full of love. “Merry Christmas, baby.” </p><p>Mark looks like he might cry as he takes the puppy in his arms, cradling her close as though she were the most precious thing in the world. Donghyuck flops down on the floor next to where his brother kneels, laughing when the puppy licks his fingers as he tries to pet her. </p><p>Johnny watches the scene with such fondness he feels as though his heart might burst. The way that Jaehyun comes to lean his head on his shoulder doesn’t help, but he tugs him closer anyway, breathing in the scent of toothpaste and his husband’s cologne. </p><p>“I love you,” The younger man whispers, leaning up to capture Johnny’s lips in the softest of kisses. “So so much.”</p><p>“I love you too,” Johnny murmurs back, equally as quiet, equally as ardent. “Merry Christmas.”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/suhnbeams">♥ twitter</a>
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  <a href="https://curiouscat.me/suhnbeams">♥ curiouscat</a>
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